Fort Collins-bound Uber is worth $17 billion

Kevin Labonte, owner of Special Times Limousine, supplements his own fares with those he contracts out from Uber. The ride-share program is planning an expansion into Fort Collins.
(Photo:
Photo By Aaron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post
)

Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick said Wednesday that his popular mobile car service app is raising a new round of funding with a "record breaking" valuation.

Recent reports have pegged the San Francisco-based company's valuation as high as $17 billion. Kalanick confirmed that the valuation would be in that neighborhood.

That would make Uber — whose app connects users with vehicles for hire and ridesharing services — one of the most richly valued private technology companies alongside Dropbox and Airbnb. So far, Uber has raised more than $300 million.

Uber is raising money to fuel its expansion. Kalanick said he wants to see the company in "every major city in the world."

Last week the Silicon Valley startup told the Coloradoan it is contracting drivers and plans to be available within the city before the end of the year.

All Fort Collins residents will have to do is install the app, enter their credit card (or PayPal) information and push a button to request a ride. Then the nearest Uber driver will take them where they need to go. The company also allows drivers to use their own vehicles to pick up customers through its lower-cost service called "uberX."

Uber says there's already a demand for the company to expand to Northern Colorado based on how many people have opened the app in the region.

"Wherever our followers want rides, that's where we want to be," said Will McCollum, Uber's general manager in Colorado. "We want to be the leaders in the country on how to do ride-sharing right."

Starting things "right" in Fort Collins will take some time. The company is gathering drivers and preparing to tactfully enter the market.

The company is already in more than 100 metro areas across the world.

Kalanick made the remarks at the media and technology Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

Kalanick also announce a deal with AT&T that will put Uber's app on Android phones. Uber will also put its drivers on AT&T's network, though they can also use other services.

Kalanick also said he was planning to hire campaign operatives to take on regulations that protect taxi companies across the country. Uber and competitor Lyft were sued last week for racketeering by Connecticut taxi and livery companies.

"When we started Uber it wasn't a war, but that war was brought to us," he said.

No stranger to controversy, Kalanick fired up another one.

Kalanick said he loves the idea of self-driving vehicles, like the one Google unveiled earlier this week, and said he would eventually replace human drivers with robots. Driverless Ubers could make the cost of rides so affordable, people might give up on owning cars altogether, Kalanick said.

"The reason Uber could be expensive is you're paying for the other dude in the car," Kalanick said. "When there is no other dude in the car, the cost of taking an Uber anywhere is cheaper. Even on a road trip."

BY THE NUMBERS

$1.2 billion

The total Uber has raised in primary capital from international investors.

$17 billion

The company, founded in 2010, and is valued at $17 billion.

500,000

Six months ago, in December 2013, the company has 450,000 active users worldwide.